Ne? Doubles?
by JR Salazar
Summary: A fanfic about a boy and a girl, and their love for the game...


Note: A little bit of a shortficcy vignette. Cause I wanna. Maybe I will put it into chapters. Oh yes. This fanfic was made because I love Ella. Enjoy.

Ne? Doubles?

By Jo-Ryan Salazar.

Part 1: Marion, here we come!

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I never thought that I would be a golf star. Sure, Kid taught me how to make the golf swing, but that was it. It never came to my mind that I would have so much hardware in my lodge, it would be a mess. But it did happen, and it happened in the blink of an eye. Me and Neil, the two top golfers the world has ever seen. I still can't believe it. Am I in a dream? Or have these things called hard work, dedication, and sacrifice become important assets indeed, assets that have propelled us to the top?

When I walked into the Marion Golf Club, I couldn't believe the many things I saw. The center had all a golfer starting out could ask for. A slots club. A golf mini-park. A practice course, and the golf course itself. Not to mention a custom club shop, a one-club challenge, a Go Go Gates forest (whatever that was), and the golf clinic. I found a custom club ticket in the clubhouse, and got some clubs at the club shop. Sweet-spot clubs have a special place in my heart. I showed them to Neil, and he was over the moon.

Neil's a frisky fella. Donning his blue ballcap, blue and yellow shirt, jean shorts and blue and white shorts, he was very committed to improving his game and achieving what he wanted to achieve. And I, in my red-pink visor, red and white plaid dress and red-white shoes, felt happy for him. We were best friends. He and I had a lot of things in common: what our favorite movies were (The Legend of Bagger Vance), the best places to eat, what our favorite here was (one certain plumber from the heart of New York City). But we had one goal, and that was to play with the greats.

And that's why the two of us left our city lives, our families behind, to come to Marion. This was our new home. This was where we would eat, sleep, live. We ate golf, drank golf, slept golf, and lived golf. Golfing was our lives. All the people at the Marion Club were our friends and family. Even our grade school friends Buzz and Helen, who claimed themselves to be our rivals. I scoff at that idea. I don't like me having to compete against anyone other than myself. I always want to improve, and if I do, that is all the victory I need. Improvement is victory. The trophy that follows is a bonus, and nothing more than a decoration.

I always thought Kid, our teacher and a legend in his own right, was a bit of a nutcase. The many trophies and award he won were hard to believe, and he even managed to play a few rounds with Mario Mario, the man himself. My knees shook at the mentioning of his name. He was my hero, as was Neil's, Helen's, and Buzz's, and the others.

What increased my motivation to succeed in my game were four smart individuals who were masters of their game. Their names were Putts, Grace, Tiny (who was actually a big, hard-drinking son of a gun), and Gene. Actually, he prefers to be called the Gene, cause he thought he was all that. Yeah, right. Anyway, these four people challenged me to beat them at their game. So I said to them, "Just you wait!"

Running over to the Marion course, Neil and I asked if we could take part in the Marion Doubles Tournament. He said, "Go on ahead. Hey Starter, enter one more team for the tournament."

The starter looked at us as if we were crazy. Here we were, fresh new students, heading into the competition. This was going to be quite a challenge.

Hole 1, Par 4. A 422-yard doozy waiting for a bruising. Simple a sweet. "I'm a little bit…you know," I said to Neil, looking at the course.

"Don't be," he replied. "This shouldn't be a problem."

Teeing it up, I too a deep breath, then swing it. I hoped our new sweet-spot clubs didn't let us down. A curve, and a good shot: 258-yard drive on the fairway. "Whoa, what a doozy, huh?"

"Ya better believe it," he replied, snickering as he got ready to tee it up. Using a four-iron club, Neil whacked it down like you wouldn't believe. Right on the green. Easy enough for me to putt in home for a birdie.

"Wow," I said, with a giggle. We were immediately tie for first place with Akiko and Akatora. The others were at par.

Another par 4 on Hole 2, at 383 yards. Bing, bang, bing. Taking out his trusty one-iron, Neil powered the shot….into the bunker. I threw my hands in disgust, then took out my six-iron to make up the breakdown. And the thing was, there was no wind. Again, it went to the green.

"You should quit bunkering your shots, Neil," I said. "We're gonna lose that way." Putting a hand behind his head, Neil laughed embarrassingly. Another putt, another birdie. And the lead.

Here came the first Par 3 holes on the course. A 176-yard hole with a few bunkers waiting for people to make stupid mistakes, like getting an off shot. Nodding, I took out my four-iron to get it as close to the green as possible. It almost became a hole in one, but it hit the pin. No matter, another birdie for the ever-so-erroneous-once-in-a-blue-moon Neil. Two shots above two teams. We were off and rolling heading into the fourth.

The fourth hole was a Par 5, 545-yard long one. I didn't have a far distance yet, so I had to just get a regular shot onto the fairway. After Neil took a shot that sent the ball within 72 yards of the pin, I took my approaching wedge, and it hit the fringe. But fringe, I suppose, was Neil's middle name. Another birdie. Three stroked above the competition.

Next was a Hole 5, Par 4, 359-yard flinger. I had to get ready for this one. A one-iron shot, we were set for another birdie. I was surprised we were doing so well so far. Taking a nine-iron, Neil took it into the green. A putt, and another stroke. We were stroking it up like a genie in a magic lamp, and we knew it. Five-under for the tournament.

Hole six was another Par 4, a 366-yarder. Taking a 1-wood, Neil shot the ball 245 yard into the fairway. My seven-iron got us into the green. Another putt, and another birdie. Our skills were improving as the day went by. "Do you ever get tired of this?" I asked Neil.

"Noooo way!" said he, smiling widely. I snuck a dirty glare at him. He can be quite silly, that Neil.

Hole seven was 488 yard, par 5. Taking a one-iron, I sailed the ball 256 yard into the fairway. That set Neil up for a modest shot, taking it within 42 yard of the pin. Giving my friend a noogie, I said to him, "You know, if you could have just gotten the ball a little deeper into the green…"

"I know, I know. Sorry, sorry."

I thought of something to relax him down. Taking my putting wedge, I took the ball into the green, and into the pin. I couldn't believe I could do that. Somehow I had gotten my Eagle on, as one rap star put it rather shadily.

The other members of our golfing party looked at us as if to say, "How do those kids do it?" asked one. "Waluigi once said that people like that were cheaters," replied another. "Well they sure didn't look like they were cheating on that one," replied a third.

I only smiled as I walked to the eighth hole, another Par 3, 188 yards. Neil made it a bit interesting, taking his three-iron and hitting it within the fairway. Just outside of the green. As Neil tapped it in, I knew we had our first par. Ah well. I can't get them all. At least not when I had someone who couldn't take to the green on the first swing.

The last hole in the front nine was a Par 4, 387-yarder. Okay. I'm going to get a clean shot on this one, whether I like it or not. THWAP! The one-iron fling it into the semi-rough. I only shook my head at not getting it into the fairway.  
It was Neil's turn to bail me out. Using a five-iron, he took the ball back…onto the semi-rough. Throwing up my hands in disgust again, I went for the putter again. Once again, it worked. I was so dedicated to getting my shots into the holes…I developed the attitude Kid taught me to have. I knew Tiger Woods, and I knew Mario. Both of them were great golfers. But I loved Mario more. I was as tall as he was, anyway. Or at least close to, but not close in prestige.

The drive to be as good as Mario was, and still is today, fueled me to the back nine.

Tenth hole, Par 4, a 345-yarder. Neil, taking out his one-wood, took it to the fairway. Okay, it was business as usual, just like (most of) the front nine. Green, putt, birdie.

Here we go again.  
Eleventh hole, a Par 5, 538-yarder. And here we were, 10 under for the tournament. 261 yard down the fairway on Mr. 1-wood. Neil, taking out his three-wood, put his shot…into the rough. I wanted to choke him a little bit for that, but we were so ahead of the competition at the time, a little mistake never hurt no one. Taking the approaching wedge, I took it back to the green, where Neil atoned for his transgressions to the game with a birdie.putt. Eleven under.

The twelfth hole welcomed another par three, a 207-yarder. With no wind, it took one swing to put it in the green. Another putt, another stroke, another hole. Hole thirteen saw us seeing another Par 4, a 388-yarder. I set Neil up again, the same old, same old.

"I wonder what's happening to the rest of the competition?" I asked Neil,, who was drinking a bottle of water heading into the fourteenth hole.

"They're dying out there, I think," he said, grinning, downing the rest of his bottle.

"You drink that bottle like beer, and the next thing you know, you'll want a Guinness."

"Ewwwww. You know I'm so not down for !"

"I was only kidding."

Another Par 4, this time 421 yard. "Gotta drive it, gotta drive it," I said to Neil.

Hole fifteen. Yet another Par 4, 388 yards. Somehow we were taking the other kids to school. Others thought Neil was Mario and I Peach. I always wanted to dress in Peach's clothing. Somehow, pink was better. But my dress was okay enough. I idolize so many people…I was so spirited.

"Bling bling," I said.

"What's 'Bling Bling?' asked Neil.

"A basketball term."

"Um, wrong sport," he said, and we laughed.

There was no way they could catch us now. Me and Neil, 15 under. Akiko and Akitora, one over. Izutos and MasaPon, 2 over. Real Peachans Sea Bass, three over. Buzz and Helen, our rivals, five over. And a whole lot of others far behind us. The leaderboard and scorecard got me laughing a bit. Neil was rolling on the grass laughing. But there were three holes left to be played.

This was the last Par 3 hole in the course, a 196-yarder. "You know what?" I asked Neil, as I set up tee for him. "After we win the Doubles Cup, I'll treat you."

"Y-you will?" Neil's knees were shaking.

"Yeah…" I wa

"Ella, I thought you were going to…oh whatever." He took a swing on his four-wood, taking it back on the green for another birdie putt. 16 under for the tournament.

At last, we were onto the final hole, a Par 5, 527-yard monster. I had to fling this one, or else it would hit the water. The water! I shuddered at the thought of my ball hitting the water hazard. Ick.

Neil began the hole with a one-wood, 211-yard drive into the fairway. Taking my one-wood, I took the ball another 232 yards. The pin was in sight. Neil place the ball on the green with his approacher, setting me up for the last birdie putt. The ball went in, and we finished the Marion Doubles Cup with an impressive tourney win, smashing our opponents. I was amazed to see how far we had gotten in terms of laying it all down on our opponents.

As we received our trophy, we jumped high in the air, hugging each other. Fireworks could be heard, confetti could be seen coming down, and the applause was eminent. We won our tournament, and for Neil, a trip to McDonald's. Little did I know we were only getting started.

"Mario!" said Parakarry to the plumber at his suite in Peach's Castle. "Mail!"

"Huh?" He was only waking up. He couldn't believe what he saw, "Mamma Mia! This is from the Marion Academy. Two new people who joined in destroyed the competition. This looks pretty good."

"What is it, Mario," Princess Peach asked, walking to his room.

"It says Ella and Neil won the Marion Doubles Cup by 18 stroked over their nearest opponent. Amazing-a!"

"Great work by those two. Perhaps we should invite them to visit our golf course someday?"

"I think that plan is not too far behind," he said with a kiss. The two of them walked down

End Part 1


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